Sega Games Co., Ltd. (/ˈsɛɡə/; stywized as SEGA)[a] is a Japanese muwtinationaw video game devewoper and pubwisher headqwartered in Tokyo, Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. The company, previouswy known as Sega Enterprises Ltd. and Sega Corporation, is a subsidiary of Sega Howdings Co., Ltd., which is part of Sega Sammy Howdings. Its internationaw branches, Sega of America and Sega of Europe, are respectivewy headqwartered in Irvine, Cawifornia and London, uh-hah-hah-hah. Sega's arcade division, once part of Sega Corporation, has existed as Sega Interactive Co., Ltd., awso a Sega Howdings subsidiary, since 2015.

History

Origins and arcade success (1940–1982)

The Diamond 3 Star, a modew of coin-operated swot machines produced by Sega in de 1950s

In 1940, American businessmen Martin Bromwey, Irving Bromberg, and James Humpert formed Standard Games in Honowuwu, Hawaii, to provide coin-operated amusement machines to miwitary bases. They saw dat de increase in miwitary personnew wif de onset of Worwd War II wouwd create demand for entertainment at miwitary bases. After de war, de founders sowd Standard Games and estabwished a new distributor, Service Games, named for de miwitary focus. In 1951, de United States government outwawed swot machines in US territories, so in 1952 Bromwey sent two empwoyees, Richard Stewart and Ray LeMaire, to Tokyo to estabwish a new distributor. The company provided coin-operated swot machines to U.S. bases in Japan, and by 1953 had changed its name to Service Games of Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah.[1][2][3][4] The name Sega, an abbreviation of Service Games,[5] was first used in 1954 on de Diamond Star Machine, a swot machine.[6]

On May 31, 1960, Service Games of Japan was dissowved.[6] On June 3, Bromwey estabwished two companies to take over its business activities: Nihon Goraku Bussan and Nihon Kikai Seizō.[c][7] Kikai Seizō focused on manufacturing Sega machines, whiwe Goraku Bussan served as a distributor and operator of coin-operated machines, particuwarwy jukeboxes. The two companies merged in 1964.[6]

In 1954, David Rosen, an American officer in de United States Air Force stationed in Japan, waunched a two-minute photo boof business in Tokyo.[1] This company became Rosen Enterprises, and in 1957 began importing coin-operated games to Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 1965, Nihon Goraku Bussan acqwired Rosen Enterprise to form Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Rosen was instawwed as de CEO and managing director. Shortwy afterward, Sega stopped weasing to miwitary bases and moved its focus from swot machines to become a pubwicwy traded company of coin-operated amusement machines.[8] Its imports incwuded Rock-Owa jukeboxes, pinbaww games by Wiwwiams, and gun games by Midway Manufacturing.[9]

Because Sega imported second-hand machines dat freqwentwy reqwired maintenance, Sega began de transition from importer to manufacturer by constructing repwacement guns and fwippers for its imported games. According to former Sega director Akira Nagai, dis wed to Sega devewoping deir own games as weww.[9] The first ewectromechanicaw game Sega manufactured was de submarine simuwator game Periscope, reweased worwdwide in de wate 1960s. The game sported wight and sound effects considered innovative, and was successfuw in Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. It was exported to Europe and de United States and pwaced in mawws and department stores. It cost 25 cents per pway in de United States, hewping standardize de price. Sega was surprised by de success, and for de next two years produced and exported between eight and ten games per year.[10] Despite dis, rampant piracy in de industry wouwd eventuawwy wead to Sega stepping away from exporting its games.[11]

In order to advance de company, Rosen had a goaw to take de company pubwic, and decided dis wouwd be easier to accompwish in de United States dan in Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. Rosen was advised dat dis wouwd be easiest accompwished by Sega being acqwired by a warger company. In 1969, Sega was sowd to American congwomerate Guwf and Western Industries, awdough Rosen remained CEO fowwowing de sawe. Rosen continued to devewop his rewationship wif Guwf and Western chairman Charwes Bwuhdorn, and in 1974 Guwf and Western made Sega Enterprises, Ltd. a subsidiary of an American company renamed Sega Enterprises, Inc. Sega reweased Pong-Tron, its first video-based game, in 1973.[11]

Despite wate competition from Taito's hit arcade game Space Invaders in 1978,[9] Sega prospered from de arcade game boom of de wate 1970s, wif revenues cwimbing to over US$100 miwwion by 1979. During dis period, Sega acqwired Gremwin Industries, a manufacturer of microprocessor-based arcade games.[12] In 1979, Sega awso acqwired Esco Boueki (Esco Trading), founded and owned by Hayao Nakayama. This brought Nakayama into de company, where he was pwaced in charge of Sega's Japanese operations.[13] In de earwy 1980s, Sega was one of de top five arcade game manufacturers active in de United States, as company revenues rose to $214 miwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[14] 1979 saw de rewease of Head On, which introduced de "eat de dots" gamepway Namco water used in Pac-Man.[15] In 1981, Sega wicensed and reweased Frogger, its most successfuw game untiw den, uh-hah-hah-hah.[16] In 1982, Sega introduced de first game wif isometric graphics, Zaxxon.[17]

Entry into de home consowe market (1982–1989)

A downturn in de arcade business starting in 1982 seriouswy hurt Sega, weading Guwf and Western to seww its Norf American arcade manufacturing organization and de wicensing rights for its arcade games to Bawwy Manufacturing.[18][19] The company retained Sega's Norf American R&D operation and its Japanese subsidiary, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Wif its arcade business in decwine, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. president Nakayama advocated dat de company weverage its hardware expertise to move into de home consowe market in Japan, which was in its infancy at de time.[20] This wed to Sega's devewopment of a computer, de SC-3000. Upon finding out dat Nintendo was devewoping a games-onwy consowe, Sega devewoped and rewease its first home video game system, de SG-1000, awongside de SC-3000.[21] Rebranded versions were reweased in severaw oder markets worwdwide.[22][23][24][25] Due in part to de SG-1000's steadier stream of reweases, and to a recaww on Famicom units by primary competitor Nintendo, de SG-1000 sowd 160,000 units in 1983, far exceeding Sega's projection of 50,000 in de first year.[23] However, by 1984 de Famicom began to outpace de SG-1000, in part because Nintendo boosted its games wibrary by courting dird-party devewopers, whereas Sega was hesitant to cowwaborate wif companies dey were competing wif in arcades.[23]

Shortwy after de waunch of de SG-1000, and de deaf of company founder Charwes Bwudhorn, Guwf and Western began to divest its secondary businesses,[26] so Nakayama and Rosen arranged a management buyout of de Japanese subsidiary in 1984 wif financiaw backing from CSK Corporation, a prominent Japanese software company.[27] Sega's Japanese assets were purchased for $38 miwwion by a group of investors wed by Rosen and Nakayama. Isao Okawa, chairman of CSK, became chairman,[13] whiwe Nakayama was instawwed as CEO of Sega Enterprises, Ltd.[28]

The Master System, reweased in Norf America in 1986 and Europe in 1987

Sega began working on de Mark III in Japan in 1985.[29] The Mark III was a redesigned iteration of de SG-100,[30] engineered by de same team.[31] For its Norf America rewease, Sega rebranded de Mark III as de Master System,[32] wif a futuristic design intended to appeaw to Western tastes.[31] The Mark III was reweased in Japan in October 1985 at a price of ¥15,000.[33] Despite featuring more powerfuw hardware dan de Famicom, de Mark III was unsuccessfuw at waunch. As Nintendo reqwired dird-party devewopers not to pubwish deir Famicom games on oder consowes, Sega devewoped its own games and obtained de rights to port games from oder devewopers, but dey did not seww weww.[29]

Sawes of de Master System in de United States were handicapped by ineffective marketing by Tonka, who marketed de consowe dere on Sega's behawf.[34] By earwy 1992, production had ceased in Norf America, having sowd between 1.5 miwwion and 2 miwwion units,[35][36] behind Nintendo and Atari, which controwwed 80 percent and 12 percent of de market respectivewy.[37] However, de Master System was eventuawwy a success in Europe, where it outsowd de NES by a considerabwe margin, uh-hah-hah-hah.[38][39] As wate as 1993, de Master System's active instawwed user base in Europe was 6.25 miwwion units.[38] The Master System has had continued success in Braziw, where new versions continue to be reweased, distributed by Sega's partner in de region, Tectoy.[40] By 2016, de Master System had sowd 8 miwwion units in Braziw.[41] Its continuing success dere makes de Master System de wongest-wived consowe in history.[42]

Genesis, Sonic de Hedgehog, and mainstream success (1989–1994)

Sega reweased de Master System's successor, de Mega Drive, in Japan on October 29, 1988, dough de waunch was overshadowed by Nintendo's rewease of Super Mario Bros. 3 a week earwier. Positive coverage from magazines Famitsu and Beep! hewped estabwish a fowwowing, but Sega onwy shipped 400,000 units in de first year.[43] The Mega Drive couwd not overtake de venerabwe Famicom[44] and remained a distant dird in Japan behind Nintendo's Super Famicom and NEC's PC Engine droughout de 16-bit era.[45] For de consowe's waunch in Norf America, where de consowe was renamed Genesis, Sega had no Norf American sawes and marketing organization, uh-hah-hah-hah. After Atari decwined an offer to market de consowe in de region, Sega waunched de consowe drough its own Sega of America subsidiary. Genesis was waunched in a wimited number of markets on August 14, 1989, and in de rest of Norf America water dat year.[46] The European version of de Mega Drive was reweased in September 1990.[47]

For de Norf American market, where de consowe was renamed Genesis, former Atari executive and new Sega of America CEO Michaew Katz devewoped a two-part approach to buiwd sawes. The first part invowved a marketing campaign to chawwenge Nintendo head-on and emphasize de more arcade-wike experience avaiwabwe on de Genesis,[46][48] wif swogans incwuding "Genesis does what Nintendon't".[43] Since Nintendo owned de consowe rights to most arcade games of de time, de second part invowved creating a wibrary of recognizabwe games which used de names and wikenesses of cewebrities and adwetes.[1][49] Nonedewess, Sega had difficuwty overcoming Nintendo's ubiqwity in homes.[50] Tasked by Nakayama to seww one miwwion units in de first year, Katz and Sega of America sowd onwy 500,000.[43]

As Sega sought a fwagship series to compete wif Nintendo's Mario series, dey decided dat a new company mascot character was needed as Awex Kidd, who served as de company's mascot during de wate 1980s, faiwed to catch on wif de pubwic.[51] One of de company's artists, Naoto Ohshima, designed a number of mockup designs as a resuwt, eventuawwy settwing on a hedgehog wif red shoes dat he cawwed "Mr. Needwemouse".[52] This character was water renamed Sonic de Hedgehog, weading de creating one of de best-sewwing video game franchises in history.[52][53] The gamepway of Sonic de Hedgehog originated wif a tech demo created by Yuji Naka, who had devewoped an awgoridm dat awwowed a sprite to move smoodwy on a curve by determining its position wif a dot matrix. Naka's prototype was a pwatform game dat invowved a fast-moving character rowwing in a baww drough a wong winding tube; dis concept was fweshed out wif Ohshima's character design and wevews conceived by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara.[54] Sonic's bwue cowor was chosen to match Sega's cobawt bwue wogo. His shoes were inspired by Michaew Jackson's boots, and his personawity by Biww Cwinton's "can-do" attitude.[55][56][57]

In mid-1990, Nakayama hired Tom Kawinske to repwace Katz as CEO of Sega of America. Awdough Kawinske knew wittwe about de video game market, he surrounded himsewf wif industry-savvy advisors. A bewiever in de razor and bwades business modew, he devewoped a four-point pwan: cut de price of de consowe, create a U.S.-based team to devewop games targeted at de American market, expand de aggressive advertising campaigns, and repwace de bundwed game Awtered Beast wif Sonic de Hedgehog. The Japanese board of directors disapproved of de pwan,[50] but it was approved by Nakayama, who towd Kawinske, "I hired you to make de decisions for Europe and de Americas, so go ahead and do it."[43] Magazines praised Sonic as one of de greatest games made, and Sega's consowe finawwy became successfuw.[50] In warge part due to de popuwarity of Sonic de Hedgehog, de Sega Genesis outsowd its main competitor, de Super Nintendo Entertainment System, in de United States nearwy two to one during de 1991 howiday season, uh-hah-hah-hah. By January 1992, Sega controwwed 65% of de 16-bitconsowe market, making it de first time Nintendo was not de consowe weader since 1985.[58] Sega outsowd Nintendo four Christmas seasons in a row[59] due to de Genesis' head start, wower price, and a warger wibrary of games when compared to de Super Nintendo at its rewease.[60]

In 1990, Sega waunched de Game Gear, a handhewd consowe, to compete against Nintendo's Game Boy. The consowe was designed as a portabwe version of de Master System, and featured more powerfuw systems dan de Game Boy, incwuding a fuww-cowor screen, in contrast to de monochrome Game Boy screen, uh-hah-hah-hah.[61] However, due to its short battery wife, wack of originaw games, and weak support from Sega, de Game Gear did not surpass de Game Boy, sewwing approximatewy 11 miwwion units.[62] Sega waunched de Mega-CD in Japan on December 1, 1991, initiawwy retaiwing at JP¥49,800.[63] In Norf America, it was renamed de Sega CD and waunched on October 15, 1992, wif a retaiw price of US$299.[64] It was reweased in Europe as de Mega-CD in 1993.[63] The add-on greatwy expanded de potentiaw size of Genesis games and upgraded de graphics and sound capabiwities wif a second, faster processor, vastwy expanded system memory, a graphics chip dat performed scawing and rotation simiwar to Sega's arcade games, and an additionaw sound chip.[64][65] The Mega-CD sowd onwy 100,000 units during its first year in Japan, fawwing weww bewow expectations.[63] However, Sega had success wif arcade games; in 1992 and 1993, de new Sega Modew 1 arcade system board showcased Sega AM2's Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter (de first 3Dfighting game), which pwayed a cruciaw rowe in popuwarizing 3D powygonaw graphics.[66][67][68]

32X, Saturn, and fawwing sawes (1994–1999)

In January 1994, Sega began to devewop an add-on for de Genesis, de 32X, which wouwd serve as a wess expensive entry into de 32-bit era. The decision was made by Nakayama and widewy supported by Sega of America empwoyees.[69] The 32X wouwd not be compatibwe wif de Saturn, but Sega executive Richard Brudvik-Lindner pointed out dat de 32X wouwd pway Genesis games.[28] Sega reweased de 32X on November 21, 1994 in Norf America, December 3, 1994 in Japan, and January 1995 in PAL territories, and was sowd at wess dan hawf of de Saturn's waunch price.[70][71] After de howiday season, however, interest in de 32X rapidwy decwined.[69][72]

Sega reweased de Sega Saturn in Japan on November 22, 1994, at ¥44,800.[73]Virtua Fighter, a faidfuw port of de popuwar arcade game, sowd at a nearwy one-to-one ratio wif de Saturn consowe at waunch and was cruciaw to de system's earwy success in Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah.[74][75][76] Sega's initiaw shipment of 200,000 Saturn units sowd out on de first day,[1][76][77] and was more popuwar dan de PwayStation in Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah.[76][78] In March 1995, Sega of America CEO Tom Kawinske announced dat de Saturn wouwd be reweased in de U.S. on "Saturnday" (Saturday) September 2, 1995.[79][80] However, Sega of Japan mandated an earwy waunch to give de Saturn an advantage over de PwayStation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[81] At de first Ewectronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angewes on May 11, 1995, Kawinske gave a keynote presentation in which he reveawed de rewease price of US$399 (incwuding a copy of Virtua Fighter[82]) and described de features of de consowe. Kawinske awso reveawed dat Sega had shipped 30,000 Saturns to Toys "R" Us, Babbage's, Ewectronics Boutiqwe, and Software Etc. for immediate rewease.[79] The Saturn's rewease in Europe awso came before de previouswy announced Norf American date, on Juwy 8, 1995, at a price of ₤399.99.[83] Widin two days of de PwayStation's American waunch on September 9, 1995, de PwayStation sowd more units dan de Saturn had in de five monds fowwowing its surprise waunch.[84][85] Widin its first year, de PwayStation secured over 20% of de U.S. video game market.[86] Sega awso underestimated de continued popuwarity of de Genesis; sawes of 16-bit games and consowes accounted for 64% of de market in 1995.[87][88] Despite capturing 43% of de dowwar share of de U.S. market and sewwing more dan 2 miwwion Genesis units in 1995, Kawinske estimated dat Sega couwd have sowd anoder 300,000 if dey had been prepared for de demand.[89]

Due to wong-standing disagreements wif Sega of Japan,[1][90] Kawinske wost interest in his work as CEO of Sega of America.[91] On Juwy 16, 1996, Sega announced dat Shoichiro Irimajiri had been appointed chairman and CEO of Sega of America, whiwe Kawinske wouwd weave Sega after September 30 of dat year.[92][93] A former Honda executive,[94][95] Irimajiri had been invowved wif Sega of America since joining Sega in 1993.[92][96] Sega awso announced dat David Rosen and Nakayama had resigned from deir positions as chairman and co-chairman of Sega of America, dough bof remained wif de company.[92][97]Bernie Stowar, a former executive at Sony Computer Entertainment of America,[98][99] was named Sega of America's executive vice president in charge of product devewopment and dird-party rewations.[92][93] Stowar was not supportive of de Saturn, bewieving its hardware was poorwy designed, and pubwicwy announced at E3 1997 dat "The Saturn is not our future."[1] Whiwe Stowar had "no interest in wying to peopwe" about de Saturn's prospects, he continued to emphasize qwawity games for de system,[1] and water refwected dat "we tried to wind it down as cweanwy as we couwd for de consumer".[99] At Sony, Stowar had opposed de wocawization of certain Japanese PwayStation games dat he fewt wouwd not represent de system weww in Norf America, and advocated a simiwar powicy for de Saturn during his time at Sega, awdough he water sought to distance himsewf from dis perception, uh-hah-hah-hah.[1][100][101] These changes were accompanied by a softer image in Sega's advertising, incwuding removing de "Sega!" scream and howding press events for de education industry.[102]

In January 1997, Sega announced pwans to merge wif de Japanese toymaker Bandai. The merger, pwanned as a $1 biwwion stock swap whereby Sega wouwd whowwy acqwire Bandai, was set to form a company known as Sega Bandai, Ltd.[103][104] Though it was to be finawized in October of dat year, it was cawwed off in May after growing opposition from Bandai's midwevew executives. Bandai instead agreed to a business awwiance wif Sega.[105] As a resuwt of Sega's deteriorating financiaw situation, Nakayama resigned as president of Sega in January 1998 in favor of Irimajiri.[106] Nakayama's resignation may have in part been due to de faiwure of de merger, as weww as Sega's 1997 performance.[107] Stowar acceded to become CEO and president of Sega of America.[99][108]

The Saturn faiwed to take de wead in de market as de Genesis had. After de waunch of de Nintendo 64 in 1996, sawes of de Saturn and its games feww sharpwy,[99] whiwe de PwayStation outsowd de Saturn by dree-to-one in de U.S. in 1997.[86] Fowwowing five years of generawwy decwining profits,[109] in de fiscaw year ending March 31, 1998, Sega suffered its first parent and consowidated financiaw wosses since its 1988 wisting on de Tokyo Stock Exchange.[110] Shortwy before announcing de wosses, Sega announced dat it was discontinuing de Saturn in Norf America to prepare for de waunch of its successor.[94][99] The Saturn wasted wonger in Japan and Europe.[95] The decision to abandon de Saturn effectivewy weft de Western market widout Sega games for over one year.[111] Sega suffered an additionaw ¥42.881 biwwion consowidated net woss in de fiscaw year ending March 1999, and announced pwans to ewiminate 1,000 jobs, nearwy a qwarter of its workforce.[112][113] Wif wifetime sawes of 9.26 miwwion units,[114] de Saturn is considered a commerciaw faiwure,[115] awdough its instaww base in Japan surpassed de Nintendo 64's 5.54 miwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[116]

Dreamcast and continuing struggwes (1999-2001)

The Dreamcast, discontinued in 2001, was Sega's wast video game consowe

Despite taking massive wosses on de Saturn, incwuding a 75 percent drop in hawf-year profits just before de Japanese waunch of de Dreamcast, Sega fewt confident about its new system. The Dreamcast attracted significant interest and drew many pre-orders.[117] Sega announced dat Sonic Adventure, de next game starring company mascot Sonic de Hedgehog, wouwd arrive in time for de Dreamcast waunch and promoted de game wif a warge-scawe pubwic demonstration at de Tokyo Kokusai Forum Haww.[118][119][120] However, Sega couwd not achieve its shipping goaws for de Dreamcast's Japanese waunch due to a shortage of PowerVR chipsets caused by a high faiwure rate in de manufacturing process.[117][121] As more dan hawf of its wimited stock had been pre-ordered, Sega stopped pre-orders in Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. On November 27, 1998, de Dreamcast waunched in Japan at a price of JP¥29,000, and de entire stock sowd out by de end of de day.[122] Sega estimated dat an additionaw 200,000 to 300,000 Dreamcast units couwd have been sowd wif sufficient suppwy.[122] Irimajiri hoped to seww over 1 miwwion Dreamcast units in Japan by February 1999, but wess dan 900,000 were sowd, undermining Sega's attempts to buiwd up a sufficient instawwed base to ensure de Dreamcast's survivaw after de arrivaw of competition from oder manufacturers.[123] Prior to de Western waunch, Sega reduced de price of de Dreamcast to JP¥19,900, effectivewy making de hardware unprofitabwe but increasing sawes.[117]

On August 11, Sega of America confirmed[124] dat Stowar had been fired, weaving Moore to direct de waunch.[125][126][127] The Dreamcast waunched in Norf America on September 9, 1999 at a price of $199, which Sega dubbed "9/9/99 for $199".[111][123][128] Eighteen waunch games were avaiwabwe in de U.S.[128][129][130] Sega set a record by sewwing more dan 225,132 Dreamcast units in 24 hours, earning $98.4 miwwion in what Moore cawwed "de biggest 24 hours in entertainment retaiw history".[131] Widin two weeks, U.S. Dreamcast sawes exceeded 500,000.[131] By Christmas, Sega hewd 31 percent of de Norf American video game market.[132] On November 4, Sega announced it had sowd over one miwwion Dreamcast units.[133] Neverdewess, de waunch was marred by a gwitch at one of Sega's manufacturing pwants, which produced defective GD-ROMs.[134] Sega reweased de Dreamcast in Europe on October 14, 1999,[133] at £200.[117] Whiwe Sega sowd 500,000 units in Europe by Christmas 1999,[117] sawes did not continue at dis pace, and by October 2000, Sega had sowd onwy about 1 miwwion units in Europe.[135]

Though de Dreamcast waunch had been successfuw, Sony stiww hewd 60 percent of de overaww market share in Norf America wif de PwayStation at de end of 1999.[133] On March 2, 1999, in what one report cawwed a "highwy pubwicized, vaporware-wike announcement",[136] Sony reveawed de first detaiws of its "next generation PwayStation", which Ken Kutaragi cwaimed wouwd awwow video games to convey unprecedented emotions.[137][138] The same year, Nintendo announced dat its next generation consowe wouwd meet or exceed anyding on de market, and Microsoft began devewopment of its own consowe, de Xbox.[139][140][141] Sega's initiaw momentum proved fweeting as U.S. Dreamcast sawes—which exceeded 1.5 miwwion by de end of 1999[142]—began to decwine as earwy as January 2000.[143] Poor Japanese sawes contributed to Sega's ¥42.88 biwwion ($404 miwwion) consowidated net woss in de fiscaw year ending March 2000, which fowwowed a simiwar woss of ¥42.881 biwwion de previous year and marked Sega's dird consecutive annuaw woss.[144][145] Awdough Sega's overaww sawes for de term increased 27.4%, and Dreamcast sawes in Norf America and Europe greatwy exceeded de company's expectations, dis increase coincided wif a decrease in profitabiwity due to de investments reqwired to waunch de Dreamcast in Western markets and poor software sawes in Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah.[144] At de same time, increasingwy poor market conditions reduced de profitabiwity of Sega's Japanese arcade business, prompting de company to cwose 246 wocations.[144][146]

Moore stated dat de Dreamcast wouwd need to seww 5 miwwion units in de U.S. by de end of 2000 to remain a viabwe pwatform, but Sega feww short of dis goaw wif some 3 miwwion units sowd.[132][147] Moreover, Sega's attempts to spur Dreamcast sawes drough wower prices and cash rebates caused escawating financiaw wosses.[148] In March 2001, Sega posted a consowidated net woss of ¥51.7 biwwion ($417.5 miwwion).[149] Whiwe de PS2's October 26 U.S. waunch was marred by shortages, dis did not benefit de Dreamcast as much as expected, as many disappointed consumers continued to wait for a PS2. The PSone, a remodewed version of de originaw PwayStation, was de best-sewwing consowe in de U.S. at de start of de 2000 howiday season, uh-hah-hah-hah.[132][150][151] Eventuawwy, Sony and Nintendo hewd 50 and 35 percent of de US video game market respectivewy, whiwe Sega hewd onwy 15 percent.[117]

Shift to dird-party software devewopment (2001–2003)

In wate 1999, Sega Enterprises chairman Isao Okawa said at an Okawa Foundation meeting dat Sega's focus wouwd shift from hardware to software, but added dat dey were stiww fuwwy behind de Dreamcast. On November 1, 2000, Sega changed its company name from Sega Enterprises to Sega Corporation.[156]

On May 22, 2000, Okawa repwaced Irimajiri as president of Sega.[157] Okawa had wong advocated dat Sega abandon de consowe business.[158] His sentiments were not uniqwe; Sega co-founder David Rosen had "awways fewt it was a bit of a fowwy for dem to be wimiting deir potentiaw to Sega hardware", and Stowar had suggested dat Sega shouwd have sowd deir company to Microsoft.[1][159] In September 2000, in a meeting wif Sega's Japanese executives and de heads of de company's major Japanese game devewopment studios, Moore and Bewwfiewd recommended dat Sega abandon its consowe business and focus on software, prompting de studio heads to wawk out.[131]

On January 23, 2001, Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported dat Sega wouwd cease production of de Dreamcast and devewop software for oder pwatforms.[160] After an initiaw deniaw, Sega of Japan reweased a press rewease confirming dey were considering producing software for de PwayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance as part of deir "new management powicy".[161] On January 31, 2001, Sega announced de discontinuation of de Dreamcast after March 31 and de restructuring of de company as a "pwatform-agnostic" dird-party devewoper.[162][163] The decision was Moore's. Sega awso announced a Dreamcast price reduction to $99 to ewiminate its unsowd inventory, estimated at 930,000 units as of Apriw 2001.[164][165] After a furder reduction to $79, de Dreamcast was cweared out of stores at $49.95.[166][167] The finaw Dreamcast unit manufactured was autographed by de heads of aww nine of Sega's internaw game devewopment studios as weww as de heads of Visuaw Concepts and Wave Master and given away wif 55 first-party Dreamcast games drough a competition organized by GamePro magazine.[168] Okawa, who had woaned Sega $500 miwwion in 1999, died on March 16, 2001; shortwy before his deaf, he forgave Sega's debts to him and returned his $695 miwwion worf of Sega and CSK stock, hewping de company survive de dird-party transition, uh-hah-hah-hah.[169][170][171] He awso tawked to Microsoft about a sawe or merger wif deir Xbox division, but dose tawks faiwed.[172] As part of de restructuring, nearwy one dird of Sega's Tokyo workforce was waid off in 2001.[173] 2002 was Sega's fiff consecutive fiscaw year of net wosses.[174]

After Okawa's deaf, Hideki Sato became president of Sega. Sato, a 30-year veteran of Sega, had previouswy devewoped Sega's video game consowes. Because of poor sawes in 2002, Sega was forced to cut its profit forecast by 90% for 2003. As a resuwt, Sega began to wook at opportunities for a merger to fix its financiaw situation, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 2003, Sega began tawks wif Sammy Corporation and Namco. Sato stated dat he wouwd sewect de partner dat fit de business best. Sega made an announcement on February 13, 2003, of its decision to merge wif Sammy. However, as wate as Apriw 17 of de same year, Sega was stiww in tawks wif Namco, which was attempting to overturn de merger and went pubwic wif its offer to be acqwired. Sega's consideration of Namco's offer upset executives of Sammy. However, de day after Sega announced it was no wonger pwanning to merge wif Sammy, Namco widdrew its offer. Though Namco expressed dat it wouwd be wiwwing to work wif Sega on a future deaw, Sega expressed it was not interested.[175] Due to de faiwure to compwete a merger, Sato was forced to step down, uh-hah-hah-hah.[175] In 2003, he and COO Tetsu Kamaya announced dey were stepping down from deir rowes, wif Sato being repwaced by Hisao Oguchi, de head of Hitmaker.[176]

Sammy takeover and business expansion (2003–2015)

In August 2003, Sammy, one of de biggest pachinko and pachiswot manufacturing companies, bought 22.4% of Sega's shares from CSK.[177] In de same year, Sammy primary owner Hajime Satomi stated dat Sega's activity wouwd focus on deir profitabwe arcade business as opposed to deir woss-incurring home software devewopment.[178] In 2004, Sammy compweted a takeover by purchasing a controwwing share in Sega Corporation for $1.1 biwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah. Sega Sammy Howdings, an entertainment congwomerate, was created. Sega and Sammy became subsidiaries of Sega Sammy Howdings, wif bof companies operating independentwy, whiwe de executive departments merged. According to de first Sega Sammy Annuaw Report, de merger went ahead as bof companies were facing difficuwties. Satomi stated dat Sega had been operating at a woss for nearwy 10 years,[179] whiwe Sammy feared stagnation and overrewiance of its highwy profitabwe pachiswot and pachinko machine business, and wanted to diversify.[180] Sega Sammy Howdings was structured into four parts: Consumer Business (video games), Amusement Machine Business (arcade games), Amusement Center Business (Sega's deme parks and arcades) and Pachiswot and Pachinko Business (Sammy's pachinko and pachiswot business).[181]

In de consowe and handhewd business, Sega found success wif games targeted at de Japanese market such as de Yakuza and Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series. In Japan, Sega distributes games from smawwer Japanese game devewopers and wocawizations of Western games.[182][183] During 2003, Sega had pwans of broadening its franchises to Howwywood co-operating wif John Woo,[184] but pwans feww drough.[185] In amusement arcades, Sega's most successfuw games, such as Sangokushi Taisen and Border Break, continued to be based on network and card systems. Arcade machine sawes incurred higher profits dan deir consowe, portabwe, and PC games on a year-to-year basis untiw de 2010s.[186] In 2004, de GameWorks chain of arcades came under Sega ownership, untiw it was sowd in 2011. In 2009, Sega Repubwic, an indoor deme park, opened in Dubai. The next year, Sega began providing de 3D imaging for Hatsune Miku's howographic concerts.[187] In 2013, Index Corporation was purchased by Sega Sammy after going bankrupt.[188] After de buyout, Sega impwemented a corporate spin-off wif Index, and rebranded its game assets as Atwus, a whowwy owned subsidiary of Sega.[189]

Due to de decwine of packaged game sawes worwdwide in de 2010s,[190] Sega began wayoffs and reduction of deir Western businesses; for exampwe, it cwosed five offices based in Europe and Austrawia on Juwy 1, 2012.[191] This was to focus on de digitaw game market, such as PC and mobiwe devices.[192][193] The amount of SKU graduawwy shrunk from 84 in 2005 to 32 in 2014. Because of de shrinking arcade business in Japan,[194] devewopment personnew were awso rewocated to digitaw games.[195] Sega graduawwy reduced its arcade centers from 450 in 2005[196] to around 200 in 2015.[197] In de mobiwe market, Sega reweased its first app on de iTunes Store wif a version of Super Monkey Baww in 2008. Since den, de strategies for Asian and Western markets have become independent. The Western wineup consisted of emuwations of games and pay-to-pway apps, which were eventuawwy overshadowed by more sociaw and free-to-pway games, weading to 19 owder mobiwe games being puwwed due to qwawity concerns in May 2015.[198][199] In 2012, Sega awso began acqwiring studios for mobiwe devewopment, wif studios such as Hardwight, Three Rings Design, and Demiurge Studios becoming fuwwy owned subsidiaries.[200][201][202]

In de 2010s, to streamwine operations, Sega estabwished operationaw firms for each of its businesses. In 2012, Sega estabwished Sega Networks for its mobiwe games; and awdough separate at first, it merged wif Sega Corporation in 2015. Sega Games was structured as a "Consumer Onwine Company", whiwe Sega Networks focused on devewoping games for mobiwe devices.[203] In 2012, Sega Entertainment was estabwished for Sega's amusement faciwity business, and in 2015, Sega Interactive was estabwished for de arcade game business.[204] In January 2015, Sega of America announced deir rewocation from San Francisco to Atwus USA's headqwarters in Irvine, Cawifornia, which was compweted water dat year.[205]

Over de course of de existence of Sega Sammy Howdings to 2015, Sega's operating income generawwy saw improvements compared to Sega's past financiaw probwems, but was not profitabwe every year of operation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[206]

Restructuring (2015–present)

In Apriw 2015, Sega Corporation was reorganized into Sega Group, one of dree groups of Sega Sammy Howdings. Sega Howdings Co., Ltd. was estabwished, wif four business sectors under its organization, uh-hah-hah-hah. Haruki Satomi, son of Hajime Satomi, took office as president and CEO of de company in Apriw 2015.[207][208] Sega Games Co., Ltd. became de wegaw name of Sega Corporation and continues to manage home video games, whiwe Sega Interactive Co., Ltd. was founded to take controw of de arcade division, uh-hah-hah-hah.[209][210]

At de Tokyo Game Show in September 2016, Sega announced dat dey had acqwired de intewwectuaw property and devewopment rights to aww games devewoped and pubwished by Technosoft.[211] Technosoft did not want de Technosoft brand to desist, and so handing over de intewwectuaw properties to Sega was de onwy oder option, uh-hah-hah-hah. Sega and Technosoft had cowwaborated during de Genesis/Mega Drive era.[212]

In Apriw 2017, Sega Sammy Howdings announced dat it wouwd rewocate its head office functions and domestic subsidiaries wocated in de Tokyo metropowitan area to Shinagawa-ku by January 2018. This was to consowidate scattered head office functions incwuding Sega Sammy Howdings, Sammy Corporation, Sega Howdings, Sega Games, Atwus, Sammy Network, and Dartswive.[213] Sega's previous headqwarters in Ōta was sowd in 2019 and wiww wikewy be torn down, uh-hah-hah-hah.[214] In October 2017, Sega of America announced its onwine store, de Sega Shop.[215] Ian Curran, a former executive at THQ and Accwaim Entertainment, repwaced John Cheng as president and COO of Sega of America in August 2018.[216]

Corporate structure

Sega's main headqwarters is wocated in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan, and de group operating from its headqwarters is referred to as Sega of Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. Additionawwy, Sega has offices in Irvine, Cawifornia as Sega of America, and in London as Sega of Europe.[217] In oder regions, Sega has contracted distributors for its games and consowes, such as Tectoy in Braziw.[29] Previouswy, Sega has had offices in France, Germany, Spain, and Austrawia.[191]

Rewations between de different regionaw offices of Sega have not awways been smoof.[218] In de 1990s, some of dis confwict may have been caused by Sega president Nakayama and his admiration for Sega of America; according to Kawinske, "There were some guys in de executive suites who reawwy didn't wike dat Nakayama in particuwar appeared to favor de US executives. A wot of de Japanese executives were maybe a wittwe jeawous, and I dink some of dat pwayed into de decisions dat were made."[1] By contrast, audor Steven L. Kent wrote dat Nakayama buwwied American executives and dat Nakayama bewieved de Japanese executives made de best decisions. He awso stated dat Kawinske, Stowar, and Moore dreaded meeting wif Sega of Japan executives during deir times as CEO of Sega of America.[219]

Subsidiaries of Sega Howdings Co., Ltd.

After de formation of de Sega Group structure in 2015 and de founding of Sega Howdings, de former Sega Corporation was renamed as Sega Games Co., Ltd.[210] Under dis structure, Sega Games is responsibwe for de home video game market and consumer devewopment.[209] Sega Games awso incwudes Sega Networks, which handwes game devewopment for smartphones.[207] Sega currentwy devewops and pubwishes games for major video game consowes, and has not expressed interest in devewoping its own consowes again, uh-hah-hah-hah. According to former Sega of Europe CEO Mike Brogan, "There is no future in sewwing hardware. In any market, drough competition, de hardware eventuawwy becomes a commodity... If a company has to seww hardware den it shouwd onwy be to weverage software, even if dat means taking a hit on de hardware."[220]

Sega Interactive Co., Ltd. is de current company responsibwe for Sega's arcade game business.[209]Sega Toys Co., Ltd. serves as a producer of toys. Sega Toys have created toys for chiwdren's franchises such as Oshare Majo: Love and Berry, Mushiking: King of de Beetwes, Liwpri, Bakugan, Jewewpet, Riwu Riwu Fairiwu, Dinosaur King and Hero Bank. Products by Sega Toys reweased in de West incwude de Homestar and de iDog. Sega Toys awso inherited de Sega Pico handhewd system and produced software for de consowe.[221] Sega has operations of bowwing awweys and arcades drough its Sega Entertainment Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The company's DartsLive subsidiary is invowved wif de manufacture of ewectronic darts games, whiwe Sega Logistics Service is focused on de distribution and repair of arcade games.[209] In 2015, Sega and de Japanese advertising agency Hakuhodo, formed a joint venture cawwed Stories LLC wif de purpose of creating branded entertainment for fiwm and TV. Stories LLC has excwusive wicensing rights to adapt Sega properties into fiwm and tewevision, uh-hah-hah-hah.[222][223] Properties in production reportedwy incwude Shinobi, Gowden Axe, Virtua Fighter, The House of de Dead, and Crazy Taxi.[224][225]

Software research and devewopment

As a games pubwisher, Sega produces games drough its research and devewopment teams. The Sonic de Hedgehog franchise, maintained drough Sega's Sonic Team division, is one of de best-sewwing franchises in de history of video games.[226] Some games produced by Sega, such as dose from Sega Technicaw Institute from 1991 to 1996, and games produced by Sega's subsidiary companies in de Dreamcast era, have been recognized for deir creativity.[111] Sega has awso acqwired dird-party studios dat are now owned by de company, incwuding Ampwitude Studios,[227] Atwus,[189] Creative Assembwy,[228] Demiurge Studios,[200] Hardwight,[202] Rewic Entertainment,[229] and Sports Interactive.[230]

Sega's software research and devewopment teams originated wif one devewopment division operating under Sega's wongtime head of R&D, Hisashi Suzuki. As de market increased for home video game consowes, Sega expanded wif dree Consumer Devewopment (CS) divisions, whiwe after October 1983, arcade devewopment expanded to dree teams: Sega DD#1, 2, and 3. Some time after de rewease of Power Drift, de company restructured its teams again as de Sega Amusement Machine Research and Devewopment Teams, or AM teams. Each arcade division was segregated, and a rivawry existed between de arcade and consumer devewopment divisions.[231] In what has been cawwed "a brief moment of remarkabwe creativity",[111] in 2000, Sega restructured its arcade and consowe devewopment teams into nine semi-autonomous studios headed by de company's top designers.[1][232][233] Studios incwuded United Game Artists (UGA), Hitmaker, Smiwebit, Overworks, Sega AM2, and Sonic Team.[111] Sega's design houses were encouraged to experiment and benefited from a rewativewy wax approvaw process.[234] After taking over as company president in 2003, Hisao Oguchi announced his intention to consowidate Sega's studios.[235] Prior to de acqwisition by Sammy, Sega began de process of re-integrating its subsidiaries into de main company.[236]

Sega stiww operates first-party studios as departments of its research and devewopment division, uh-hah-hah-hah. Sonic Team exists as Sega's CS2 research and devewopment department,[237] whiwe Sega's CS3 department has devewoped games such as Phantasy Star Onwine 2,[238] and Sega Interactive’s AM2 department has more recentwy worked on projects such as smartphone game Souw Reverse Zero.[239] Toshihiro Nagoshi, formerwy de head of Amusement Vision, continues to be invowved wif research and devewopment, continued to work on de Yakuza series whiwe he serves as Sega's chief creative officer.[240]

Legacy

Sega is de worwd's most prowific arcade game producer, wif over 500 games in over 70 franchises on more dan 20 different arcade system boards since 1981. The company has been recognized by Guinness Worwd Records for dis achievement.[241] Whiwe traditionaw arcades have struggwed, Sega has focused on adapting to de changes in de market and wicensing various franchises to rewease games. Of Sega's arcade division, Eurogamer's Martin Robinson said, "This isn't de Sega you know, and in aww truf it's wikewy far removed from de Sega you once woved, but if you wook hard enough you'ww find gwimpses of de same spirit dere... On top of dat, it has someding dat's often evaded its consowe-dwewwing cousin: success."[242]

Sega's Genesis consowe (European Mega Drive pictured) is considered one of de best consowes in de history of video games

Of video game consowes, de Sega Genesis is often ranked among de best in history.[243][244][245] In 2014, USgamer's Jeremy Parish wrote dat de system served as "de key incubator for modern sports franchises", made "consowes truwy internationaw" by providing Western dird-parties previouswy put at a disadvantage by Nintendo's restrictive wicensing powicies wif a more profitabwe awternative, created an onwine subscription service dat foreshadowed "PwayStation Pwus more dan 15 years earwy" wif de Sega Channew, and "pwayed a key rowe in ensuring de vitawity and future of de games industry by breaking Nintendo's near-monopowistic howd on de U.S. and awakening de U.K. to de merits of tewevision gaming".[246] For his part, Kawinske highwighted Sega's rowe in devewoping games for an owder demographic and pioneering "de concept of de 'street date'" wif de simuwtaneous Norf American and European rewease of Sonic de Hedgehog 2.[247] Sega of America's marketing campaign for de Genesis was widewy emuwated, infwuencing marketing for subseqwent consowes.[248]

The Sega CD and 32X add-ons have been more negativewy remembered.[249][250][251][252] The Saturn, despite being a commerciaw faiwure, is weww regarded for its game wibrary,[83][253][254] dough has been criticized for not having enough high-profiwe franchise reweases.[1] Sega's management has been criticized for de handwing of de Saturn, uh-hah-hah-hah.[1][83] As a consowe, de Dreamcast is remembered for being ahead of its time in its innovations.[255][256][257] Adam Redseww of IGN noted dat Sega devewoped severaw concepts dat have become mainstream in more modern video game consowes, such as motion controws, onwine functionawity, and memory expansion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[258]

Writing for Eurogamer, Damien McFerran cawwed Sega's decisions in de wate 1990s "a tragic spectacwe of overconfidence and woefuwwy misguided business practice".[44] Travis Fahs of IGN noted dat since de Sammy takeover, Sega has produced wess games internawwy and outsourced to more western studios, even when de originaw creators of Sega's franchises are stiww on staff and given no creative freedom. Fahs awso pointed out dat Sega's arcade operations had awso been significantwy reduced. Fahs praised what Sega was before de Sammy takeover, stating, "Sega was one of de most active, creative, and productive devewopers de industry has ever known, and noding dat can happen to deir name since wiww change dat."[1] Ken Horowitz, in his 2018 book The Sega Arcade Revowution, connected Sega's decwine in arcades after 1995 wif de changes in de video game industry overaww, and dat de company's most serious chawwenges came from de woss of its creative tawent, particuwarwy Yuji Naka and Yu Suzuki, after de Sammy takeover. Horowitz did note, however dat "as of dis writing, Sega is in its best financiaw shape of de past two decades. The company has endured."[259]

In 2015, Sega Games Co., Ltd. president and CEO Haruki Satomi towd Famitsu dat he wouwd shift Sega's focus to qwawity of reweases over making scheduwes. Satomi acknowwedged dat, in de ten years previous, some of Sega's games had "partiawwy betrayed" de trust of Sega's owder fans and dat he hoped to re-estabwish Sega as a "brand", whereas he fewt de woss of trust wif fans had weft Sega onwy wif "reputation".[260]

^Retro Gamer staff (2013). "Sonic Boom: The Success Story of Sonic de Hedgehog". Retro Gamer — The Mega Drive Book. London, UK: Imagine Pubwishing. p. 31. Designed primariwy to appeaw to an American audience, he awso featured de cowors white and red, dough Oshima puts dis down to coincidence, citing Santa Cwaus's cowor scheme and de bewt across Michaew Jackson's jacket on de cover to Bad as de inspiration for Sonic's shoes. Finawwy, Oshima wanted to imbue his character wif a 'can do' attitude, inspired by tewevision footage of de den Arkansas governor Biww Cwinton, uh-hah-hah-hah.

^Sheffiewd, Brandon (December 4, 2009). "Out of de Bwue: Naoto Ohshima Speaks". Gamasutra. UBM pwc. Archived from de originaw on Juwy 16, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2012. The originaw Nights was chiefwy made wif de Japanese and European audiences in mind -- Sonic, meanwhiwe, was sqwarewy aimed at de U.S. market ... [Sonic is] a character dat I dink is suited to America -- or, at weast, de image I had of America at de time. ... Weww, he's bwue because dat's Sega's more-or-wess officiaw company cowor. His shoes were inspired by de cover to Michaew Jackson's Bad, which contrasted heaviwy between white and red -- dat Santa Cwaus-type cowor. I awso dought dat red went weww for a character who can run reawwy fast, when his wegs are spinning.

^"Virtua Racing – Arcade (1992)". GameSpot. 2001. Archived from de originaw on Apriw 12, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2014. cf. Feit, Daniew (September 5, 2012). "How Virtua Fighter Saved PwayStation's Bacon". Wired. Archived from de originaw on October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014. Ryoji Akagawa: If it wasn't for Virtua Fighter, de PwayStation probabwy wouwd have had a compwetewy different hardware concept. cf. Thomason, Steve (Juwy 2006). "The Man Behind de Legend". Nintendo Power. Vow. 19 no. 205. p. 72. Toby Gard: It became cwear to me watching peopwe pway Virtua Fighter, which was kind of de first big 3D-character consowe game, dat even dough dere were onwy two femawe characters in de wineup, in awmost every game I saw being pwayed, someone was picking one of de two femawes.

^Donovan, Tristan (2010). Repway: The History of Video Games. Yewwow Ant. p. 267. ISBN978-0956507204. One of de key objections to 3D graphics dat devewopers had been raising wif Sony was dat whiwe powygons worked fine for inanimate objects such as racing cars, 2D images were superior when it came to animating peopwe or oder characters. Virtua Fighter, Suzuki's fowwow-up to Virtua Racing, was a direct riposte to such dinking ... The characters may have resembwed artists' manneqwins but deir wifewike movement turned Suzuki's game into a huge success dat expwoded cwaims dat game characters couwdn't be done successfuwwy in 3D ... Teruhisa Tokunaka, chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, even went so far as to dank Sega for creating Virtua Fighter and transforming devewopers' attitudes.

^ abMcFerran, Damien (2010). "Retroinspection: Sega 32X". Retro Gamer. No. 77. pp. 44–49. Scot Baywess: The 32X caww was made in earwy January [1994] ... There's a part of me dat wishes de Saturn had adopted de 32X graphics strategy, but dat ship had saiwed wong before de greenwight caww from Nakayama.

^"Virtua Fighter Review". Edge. December 22, 1994. Archived from de originaw on December 10, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2015. Virtua Fighter's 3D characters have a presence dat 2D sprites just can't match. The characters reawwy do seem 'awive', wheder dey're drowing a punch, unweashing a speciaw move or reewing from a bwow ... The Saturn version of Virtua Fighter is an exceptionaw game in many respects. It's arguabwy de first true 'next generation' consowe game, fusing de best aspects of combat gamepway wif groundbreaking animation and gorgeous sound (CD music and cwear sampwes). In de arcades, Virtua Fighter made peopwe stop and wook. On de Saturn, it wiww make many peopwe stop, wook at deir bank bawance and den fork out for Sega's new machine. Over to you, Sony.

^Kent 2001, p. 535. Michaew Ladam: "[Tom] wouwd faww asweep on occasion in meetings. That is true. These were nine-hour meetings. Sega had a ding for meetings. You'd get dere at 8:00 A.M. and den you'd get out of de meeting at, wike, 4:00 P.M., so he wasn't de onwy person ... It wasn't de faiwure of de Saturn dat made him wose interest; it was de inabiwity to do someding about it. He was not awwowed to do anyding. The U.S. side was basicawwy no wonger in controw".

^ abcd"Sega of America appoints Shoichiro Irimajiri chairman/chief executive officer". M2PressWIRE. Juwy 16, 1996. Archived from de originaw on October 18, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014. Sega of America Inc. (SOA) Monday announced dat Shoichiro Irimajiri has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer. Sega awso announced dat Bernard Stowar, previouswy of Sony Computer Entertainment America, has joined de company as executive vice president, responsibwe for product devewopment and dird-party business ... Sega awso announced dat Hayao Nakayama and David Rosen have resigned as chairman and co-chairman of Sega of America, respectivewy.(Subscription reqwired.)

^"Irimajiri Settwes In At Sega". Next Generation. Juwy 25, 1996. Archived from de originaw on December 20, 1996. Retrieved May 6, 2014. Awdough a famiwiar face at Sega of America, Shoichiro Irimajiri has spent his first week in charge re-meeting aww de staff.

^Parkin, Simon (June 27, 2014). "A history of videogame hardware: Xbox". Edge. Future pwc. Archived from de originaw on November 21, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2015. In de run-up to de waunch of Sony's PwayStation 2, a number of Microsoft engineers became concerned at de Japanese company's cwaims dat deir new consowe was set to wipe de PC from de home.

^"Pssstt! Wanna Buy a Game System?". Next Generation. No. 14. Imagine Media. February 1996. pp. 68–79. Its Wewcome to de Next Levew campaign for Genesis estabwished it as de system to own ... singwehandedwy revowutionizing de way videogames were marketed. It's awmost impossibwe today to even find a videogame ad dat doesn't owe someding to Sega's shock-tactics marketing innovations.